The Rakes kick off US tour in LA

The Rakes kicked off the first night of their brief US tour performing for a packed house at the Troubadour in Los Angeles last night (April 1).

The London-based band challenged the Troubadour‘s usually ample sound system with their throbbing bass and pounding drums.

The quintet got the audience pogoing and dancing along to several numbers including ‘We Danced Together’ and ‘Light From Your Mac’.

The band kept the pace while frontman Alan Donohoe charmed the crowd with his disco poses and between-song banter. “Is anybody feeling sexual?” he asked the crowd, who cheered back in response. “Awesome! So am I,” he said before breaking into his trademark dance moves.

He later dedicated a song to Prince Charles and Princess Diana, adding, “We’ve come all the way from England where after sex we always have make each other a nice cup of tea.”

The audience was filled with Anglophiles and British expatriates including Art Brut‘s Eddie Argos as well as Mouldy Peaches man Adam Green and Har Mar Superstar.

The Rakes‘ tour will hit cities including San Francisco and New York in the coming week.

‘You’re In It’
‘Retreat’
‘We Danced Together’
‘Terror!’
‘Light From Your Mac’
‘Open Book’
‘Woes Of The Working Woman’
’22 Grand Job’
‘That’s The Reason’
‘Violent’
‘Binary Love’
‘We Are All Animals’
‘1989’
‘The Loneliness Of The Outdoor Smoker’
‘The World Was A Mess But His hair Was Perfect’
‘Strasbourg’